Its lead author Richard Oram, at the University of Exeter, said: “Diabetes textbooks for doctors say that type 1 diabetes is a childhood illness. But our study shows that it is prevalent throughout life.

“The assumption among many doctors is that adults presenting with the symptoms of diabetes will have type 2, but this misconception can lead to misdiagnosis with potentially serious consequences.”

The danger is that the two conditions are treated in vastly different ways.

In type 1 diabetes, patients need to be injected with insulin to control blood sugar levels while for type 2, patients still produce insulin so they are initially treated with diet and medication.

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Image caption
Theresa May was initially misdiagnosed. Doctors told her she had type 2 diabetes and she was given tablets which did not control her blood sugar

The researchers found that one in nine of the adults with type 1 diabetes were admitted to hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal condition that develops when type 1 patients are not given insulin.

One of the major reasons type 1 goes misdiagnosed is that that there are far fewer cases of it in adulthood, as 96% of adults aged 31 to 60 diagnosed with diabetes have type 2.

‘Don’t rule out type 1’

The research also found patients with type 1 are more likely to be slim, while those with type 2 were more likely to be obese.

Emily Burns, from Diabetes UK, said: “While more research is needed to understand the realities of misdiagnosis, we’d ask healthcare professionals to have this insight in mind: don’t rule out type 1 diabetes after the age of 30.”

Helen was finally correctly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes after a year on the wrong treatment: “It’s such a relief and it’s made such a difference.

“I hope this research ensures more people can get the right treatment more swiftly.”

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